“Do you see that out there? The strange, unfamiliar light? It’s called the sun. Let’s go get us a little.”

When I opened the front door this morning, the sunshine flooded my living room, and I could feel its warmth through the storm door. Gracie and I went outside to a wonderful morning, to bird songs, to a warmer day, and a temperature of 63˚. The sky is a vibrant, deep blue. The sun touched my mood, and I felt alive, energized. It’s a day to make me smile.

My papers were never delivered today. I feel adrift. I know I can read them on-line, but I don’t find doing that satisfying. I went to TV and MSNBC. I was horrified by the lead story of Trump giving classified information to the Russians because he can, “I have the absolute right.”

Gracie is being Gracie. She is a happy dog of late. The one problem was she peed in her sleep yesterday afternoon but has been dry for 4 nights. I feel like a proud mother who is potty training her toddler.

I remember a bit of South Boston where we lived until I was almost five. I remember the brick nursery school across the street from our apartment building. My mother brought me there a couple of times, and I walked out and went home both times. My mother was surprised to see me at the door. She then wisely decided not to bring me back. I remember my broken wrist from jumping off the fence backward and how proud I was of my cast. I remember the front steps and the hallway.

I remember the first place we lived in when we moved to Stoneham. The apartment was small and had only two bedrooms. My brother and I shared. My favorite spot was a small landing on the steps. I’d grab a pillow and my book and get comfy on the landing. It was my private place though it was also the way to the bathroom. I’d move my legs to give access to the stairs. I was never bothered by the interruption. I’d just keep reading.

We moved to a bigger apartment down the road in the same complex, one with three bedrooms. We lived there the longest of anywhere. Most of my growing up memories were made there. I went to first grade and stayed the whole day and then kept going from there. I learned to ride a bike. I wandered the fields and woods. I went from childhood to adolescence. All my dreams were mostly born there.

I hated the cape when we first moved here. I had no friends. Nothing was within walking distance. I’d get home from school and go to my bedroom and emerge only at dinner time. Weekends I’d take the bus to Boston and stay with my friends. Gradually, though, I got involved in school and made friends. The trips to Boston were far fewer and then stopped. My parents moved back to Stoneham when I was in Ghana. I never moved with them. The cape had become my home. My mother commented that when we first moved to the cape I went to Stoneham all the time, and now that they were in Stoneham, I chose to live on the cape.

My paper has arrived. It’s in the driveway. Now I can really start my morning.

6 Comments on ““Do you see that out there? The strange, unfamiliar light? It’s called the sun. Let’s go get us a little.””

Much the same weather here today as we had yesterday, not too bad even if it started to rain again. It’s so dry though so I won’t complain about it at all.

I lived in the same neighborhood until I was 16, we only moved to another apartment once a block away. When I was 16 we moved to an apartment close to a big mall which I tried to avoid as much as possible but also closer to the ocean and to the ocean I want almost every day 🙂 I would most likely have lived there yet if I hadn’t decided to move to the country side. To be honest, I got just too stressed by living in the big city.

My parents moved us from Brooklyn NY to Dallas Texas when I was six which was pure culture shock. I never felt at home in Dallas because I was treated as an outsider in school because I was not only a damn Yankee but also Jewish. In those days kids would ask me when they found out i was Jewish if my parents had the horns removed.

When I was 13 my dad moved us back to NY to live with my aunt and uncle because he was a traveling salesman and didn’t want us raised by a housekeeper. I loved NYC for many reasons including it’s cosmopolitan ethnic diversity. I could get around on public transportation by myself and I was accepted at school and had some good friends.

I returned to Dallas after my high school graduation and things were beginning to change in Dallas as a result of the Kennedy assassination. The city fathers made a major effort to not be the city of hate. In the last 50 years this has become my home because the city has grown up and is very cosmopolitan with many ethnicities and a mixture of cultures from everywhere.

We await the rain showers later tonight and the next couple of days. It’s May so it’s going to rain.

Bob,
That’s awful! I haven’t ever heard such stupidity and animosity. I only knew one Jewish family, but none of us ever thought anything about their differences. My town was heavily Irish and Italian. It had no synagogue until I was in high school.

I would have loved living in Boston. It is a wonderful city and has so much to offer that the Cape doesn’t have. Now, though, I am content living here.

I’m glad Dallas has changed and become more cosmopolitan. No one should live in a place where they are made uncomfortable.

You have to remember this happened over 60 years ago when segregation was the law in Texas. Jews were considered by the WASP majority below Catholics but above Mexicans and blacks. Unfortunately, stupidity still exists in this country especially towards blacks and Hispanics. How else can you explain the results of the last election which was a backlash to Obama.